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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29383965">and so, is winged cupid painted blind</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/RosePetalsAndRain/pseuds/RosePetalsAndRain'>RosePetalsAndRain</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Stray Kids (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Blind Date, First Kiss, Fluff and Crack, Happy Ending, Irony, Kim Seungmin is Whipped, Kim Seungmin is a Panicked Gay, LISTEN 2MIN R STUPID AND IN LOVE THATS IT THATS THE FIC, Lee Felix is a Good Friend, Lee Minho | Lee Know is a Confident Gay, Love Confessions, M/M, Mutual Pining, No Angst, Romance, Self-Indulgent, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day Fluff, WITH A TWIST ;)), Yang Jeongin | I.N is a Little Shit, dawn called this wholesome gay chicken and tbh. did they lie, feeding the 2min tag again, it all works out ;)))), no angst but theres still a happy ending ;))</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 07:27:51</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>6,078</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29383965</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/RosePetalsAndRain/pseuds/RosePetalsAndRain</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“He said I was in love with him; I denied it. To prove it I said I’d set him up on a blind date.”</p><p>“Ouch, that’s gotta hurt,” Felix remarks at the same time that Jeongin calls him a big fat liar, and Seungmin responds with a quirk of his mouth.</p><p>“I just did what was necessary.”</p><p>“It was completely unnecessary, but whatever, we can work through this. Who are you going to set him up with?” </p><p>“Set him up with yourself,” Jeongin whisper-screams, banging his hands flat on the table and sending the mugs and plates bouncing dangerously close to toppling over. “It’s a perfect setup! Like a confession and a point proven all at once.”</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kim Seungmin/Lee Minho | Lee Know, Lee Felix/Yang Jeongin | I.N</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>45</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>283</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>and so, is winged cupid painted blind</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“So. Valentine’s Day is coming up,” Minho says to Seungmin with exactly a week to go until the sparkly date that so many people, both couples and hopeful singles alike, appear to obsess over and fixate on every single year. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yep,” Seungmin replies, not knowing what else to say as he looks at the handcrafted glass coasters sitting prettily on Minho’s coffee table instead, hoping that if he stares at them hard enough, each coaster in all their multi-coloured glory will spontaneously melt, merge into a molten glass-monster and crawl into Minho’s personal space bubble to distract him from the one topic Seungmin wishes to avoid. “It is.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Have you got any plans?” Minho asks, and his tone is teasing, almost mocking. Seungmin tears his eyes away from the coffee table to see laughter glimmering in the chocolate colour of Minho’s eyes, and the smile pinching at his cheeks makes Seungmin want to mirror his happiness.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin thinks. Or - he pretends to. Instantly, he knows straight off the bat that </span>
  <em>
    <span>no</span>
  </em>
  <span>, he has no plans whatsoever this February 14th; nor did he last year, or the year before that, or the year before </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It’s safe to say that his past few Valentine’s have been spent boyfriend-less and alone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But it doesn’t matter to Seungmin. In all honesty, it’s just another day, over-commercialised with cliche gifts like chocolates, flowers and cheesy dates that only seem to exist in this day and age in order to take advantage of lovers in the name of capitalism.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And, like absolute buffoons, everybody falls for it, and pours their money and time into making each February 14th as special as possible.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin wonders if he’d be quite so opinionated on the matter if he also had someone special to spend it with this year.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No,” he says eventually, drumming his fingers on the outside of his clay mug, provided by the apartment-owner himself, Minho. He’d made that one himself, and it was one of Seungmin’s favourite mugs in </span>
  <em>
    <span>anyone</span>
  </em>
  <span>’s apartment - but don’t tell Minho that. He’d only use it to inflate his ego, and Seungmin doesn’t need to sit through another lecture on how to make </span>
  <em>
    <span>the perfect clay mug by hand</span>
  </em>
  <span> again. One more comment and he’s sure Minho will resort to PowerPoints.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The olive-green colour of the mug seems to mock him as he stares down into it, watching as the last dregs of tea trudge from side to side of the base as Seungmin tilts the cup from side to side. He has no idea how a colour can mock someone, but it seems to be working today regardless. “And you? No doubt you have plans.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho makes a small noise of surprise next to Seungmin. “No, of course not. Don’t you think I’d have told you if I had?” Minho had had a Valentine’s date every year since Seungmin had been cursed with his presence, so this response came as a huge surprise. In the four years they had (begrudgingly) been friends for, Seungmin had never been aware of any serious attachment to any of the dates Minho had talked about, although they certainly never came in short supply. Indeed, Seungmin had been on about a fifth of the amount of dates Minho had been on in that amount of time -- not that he was keeping count.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Certainly not.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I mean, not really? Sometimes I’ll only find out you’ve gone out with someone via Changbin, and that’s only because of his tendency to gossip. You know how he is.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho snorts loudly, and the volume of it makes Dori’s head shoot up from where she lounges across the room, tail swishing from the top of her cat tower. “He does take an eager interest in everybody’s lives, I’ll give you that. But no - this year, no date. You know who </span>
  <em>
    <span>does</span>
  </em>
  <span> have a date though? Jeongin and Felix. Disgusting.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Disgusting? You’re disgusting,” Seungmin jibes, and Minho coughs loudly in Seungmin’s direction, tongue lolling out of his mouth obscenely. Seungmin gags. “Like I said.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Back to the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Day of Capitalistic Exploitation</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Minho says, pulling his legs up beneath him on the couch as he leans back into the cushions. Seungmin shifts beside him, and sets his cursed mug down onto one of the coasters he’d been death-staring just a minute ago. “Felix held me captive for an </span>
  <em>
    <span>hour</span>
  </em>
  <span> yesterday talking about his plans to surprise Jeongin. </span>
  <em>
    <span>An hour,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Seungmin! I couldn’t escape! I’ve never felt so painfully single in my life than when he gave me the run-through from dawn to dusk about the concrete plan he’s somehow made.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then get a date,” Seungmin says, trying his best to act unbothered. He can feel his ears burning already, but he hopes that his hair, which is in dire need of a trim, is enough to hide the scarlet painting them. “You’ve had no problems scoring them for the past few years.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Whilst you’ve had none, how sad,” Minho snarks back, rolling his eyes. “We make a silly pair. Hey, in that case, we should go on a date instead.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Biting back the urge to choke and morph straight into a puddle that will absorb into the fabric of Minho’s couch, never to be seen again, Seungmin schools his features into indifference and stares steadfastly across the room at Soonie, who has decided to grace the lounge with her presence and is sniffing suspiciously at the base of Dori’s cat tower.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Absolutely not.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho whines loudly, so loud that it grates on Seungmin’s ears. “Why not?” Seungmin may as well not be trying desperately to avoid looking at Minho right now, because he can </span>
  <em>
    <span>hear</span>
  </em>
  <span> the pout in his voice just as well as he could ever see it by looking.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I mean, you’ve said it yourself, right? We’re like a divorced couple with no chance of remarriage,” Seungmin looks back up at his friend, a petty smile itching to make itself known. He knows Minho can see it, too, as he throws his head back and laughs.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I think it’d be fun to spend Valentine’s Day together. Just chilling, making fun of Jeongin and Felix’s plans, yeah?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin pulls his hood up over his hair and pulls the strings tight, obscuring all view of his ears and cheeks. His nose pokes out of its deep blue confines, and his eyes are hidden. Without missing a beat, he feels Minho’s fingers come to grab at his sniffer roughly. He yelps and struggles against the grip.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho's voice is tantalisingly close to his ear as he whispers his next syllables. “Oh, you are </span>
  <em>
    <span>so</span>
  </em>
  <span> in love with me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin blushes a fiery red invisible through his hoodie fabric, batting insistently at Minho’s arms as the elder cackles like a witch. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I am </span>
  <em>
    <span>not.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Keep dreaming.” Seungmin very much </span>
  <em>
    <span>is</span>
  </em>
  <span>. He’s a great liar. Minho only laughs harder as Seungmin drops his attack in favour of pulling his hoodie strings even tighter and tying them in a glorious knot, obscuring all of his face but one small circle of skin. That small patch is painfully poked at by Minho’s slender finger within less than a full second. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You </span>
  <em>
    <span>so</span>
  </em>
  <span> are,” Minho sings at an absolutely atrocious pitch.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ll prove it to you. Just to spite you, I’ll set you up on a blind date this Valentine’s Day!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho stops his screeching noises, and blinks at Seungmin with a strange change in atmosphere. Seungmin squints through the abyss of his hoodie obscuring his view, still blushing too hard to want to remove it just yet.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You will?” Minho asks, and his voice trembles with… </span>
  <em>
    <span>something</span>
  </em>
  <span>. It’s definitely not gratitude; it doesn’t sound </span>
  <em>
    <span>happy</span>
  </em>
  <span> at all. Seungmin feels pain stab at his chest, and wonders why Minho’s mood has soured so suddenly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He takes a deep breath in. “Yeah. You’ll get your date, and won’t be so </span>
  <em>
    <span>painfully single</span>
  </em>
  <span>, as you put it, and I’ll prove my point.” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Point of what</span>
  </em>
  <span>? Is it really a point if he’s lying about not being in love with Minho?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I look forward to it,” Minho says lightly, and in the act of untying his hoodie strings to free his face from the cocoon of warmth he had created, Seungmin misses the way the light in Minho’s eyes dim, like a star shattering into darkness. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It’s the next day: six days to go until Valentine’s Day. Shops and cafes alike are already fully decorated with their appropriate attire of lovey-dovey products, selections and merchandise, and whilst usually the sight wouldn’t bother Seungmin, today every single pink-coloured item feels like a punch to the gut.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And that is exactly why he’s holed himself up right in the back corner of a secluded coffee shop, watching out of a window as fat drops of rain roll in endless rivulets down the glass there, blurring every passerby into a masterpiece of colourful streaks. Somewhere out there will be Jeongin and Felix, whom he’s arranged to meet in exactly sixteen minutes’ time. For now, though, he listens to the cheerful music playing through his earphones and nurses a cup of piping-hot coffee whose bitter scent provides a grounding sense of peace. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It’s tranquil. Serene. Seungmin wonders why he doesn’t spend more days in this manner.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The hand-sized bell at the entrance of the coffee shop jingles as the door is pushed open, and a couple wearing matching black raincoats bustle in, folding up umbrellas that, by the looks of their soaked appearances, did little to protect them from the rain. Seungmin grins as he takes in their faces: they’re Jeongin and Felix, also a little early for their arranged time. They both scan the coffee shop, spotting Seungmin waving from his corner in an instant, and leave their umbrellas in the small umbrella rack by the door as they track puddles through the floor, hand in hand.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Seungmin!” Felix is the first to greet him as Jeongin foregoes a formal greeting in lieu of grabbing Seungmin’s coffee from the table and taking a mouthful without permission. He leaps away from the table in pain, hissing at the scalding heat of the stuff, and Seungmin chuckles.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s karma for not asking first, bitch,” he says, and Jeongin pulls a face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ll go order for us,” Felix says, and Jeongin nods as he shucks off his coat, shaking it purposely close to Seungmin and spraying him with leftover rainwater before he hangs it on the back of his chair. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ll pour this boiling hot coffee on you,” Seungmin deadpans, and Jeongin snickers as he rolls the sleeves of his baby-pink hoodie up his arms to better aim a punch at his friend.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You won’t, coward. I’ll tell Felix.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And what’s Felix gonna do, huh? I’ll already have done it.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The two continue their playful bickering long after Felix comes back, and only stop when a kind waitress comes to their table holding a tray full of drinks and cakes. Seungmin raises his eyebrows as not two, but three cakes are placed on the table, and Felix shrugs in good humour.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You didn’t have anything to eat. I’ve been meaning to recommend this cake to you for ages now anyway,” he says as he pushes the plate and fork towards Seungmin, who has no qualms about accepting it and digging right in. To Felix’s immense credit, the cake is delicious: light and fluffy, and flavoured with tangy red berries. It makes Seungmin’s taste buds shriek, but in a glorious way that’s addicting instead of repulsive. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Soon the conversation switches from generic catch ups to, as Seungmin had predicted, the topic of Valentine’s Day. It’s a relief that Jeongin brings it up first; Seungmin had been deliberating and tiptoeing around it for the past half hour in a frenzied brain hurricane of </span>
  <em>
    <span>how to bring it up without arousing suspicion.</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh yeah, are you two going to be doing anything?” Seungmin replies sweetly, blinking innocently at Felix, who slides two fingers over his neck in warning, leaning back in his chair so as to escape Jeongin’s peripheral vision under the illusion of stretching. He knows damn well that Seungmin is aware of his plans.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nah, it’s just another day, really. We’ll just order takeout as a treat, I suppose,” Jeongin says before Felix can say anything along the lines of the same thing, and Seungmin’s mouth twitches in amusement. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“<em>Really</em>?” he asks with fake awe, ever the harbinger of chaos. “I’d have thought you’d have made plans already…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Just a chill day. We don’t need plans to know we love each other,” Felix slings an arm around Jeongin’s shoulders and narrows his eyes at Seungmin. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Motherfucker</span>
  </em>
  <span>. “How about you? Any plans of your own? Because I happen to have heard something pretty interesting from a certain Lee Minho…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Shut the hell your mouth,” Seungmin points his fork at Felix threateningly. “Not another word.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But alas, it was too late; Jeongin already took the bait and had swallowed it whole.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Minho</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” he shrieks, and the coffee shop grows silent at the noise. He smiles sheepishly as the chatter resumes around them. “Minho?” he repeats, eyes bugging wide. “Did you two dumbasses finally do something about your painful-to-watch pining?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin sighs into his, now lukewarm, coffee. “It’s just one-sided pining. And yes. In a way, I did do something about it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jeongin gestures expectantly. “And?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And I’m setting him up on a blind date on Valentine’s Day.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Felix snorts into his mug whilst Jeongin’s draw drops.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What?” he near-yells, shaking his head as Felix leans into his shoulder, laughing. “Kim dumb-of-ass Seungmin! Explain, right now!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He said I was in love with him; I denied it. To prove it I said I’d set him up on a blind date.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ouch, that’s gotta hurt,” Felix remarks at the same time that Jeongin calls him a </span>
  <em>
    <span>big fat liar</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and Seungmin responds with a quirk of his mouth.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I just did what was necessary.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It was completely </span>
  <em>
    <span>un</span>
  </em>
  <span>necessary, but whatever, we can work through this. Who are you going to set him up with?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Set him up with yourself,”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Jeongin whisper-screams, banging his hands flat on the table and sending the mugs and plates bouncing dangerously close to toppling over. “It’s a perfect setup! Like a confession and a point proven all at once.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I wouldn’t be proving anything!” Seungmin counters. “My </span>
  <em>
    <span>point</span>
  </em>
  <span> is that I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> in love with him, which is a ‘fat lie’, in your beautifully eloquent wording. If I set myself up with him and he rejects me, that just amplifies how painful and awkward it will be.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fat chance of rejection,” Jeongin mumbles into his coffee, but Felix nudges him with his elbow and levels him with a look that says, </span>
  <em>
    <span>not now</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The clatter and whizz of coffee machines in action combined with the occasional scraping of forks against plates cuts through the general chatter as the three seated in the corner fall into a contemplative silence, and Seungmin sighs again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Part of me wants to risk it all and go with Jeongin’s suggestion.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then </span>
  <em>
    <span>do it,</span>
  </em>
  <span> you fabulous bastard,” Jeongin eggs him on, and Felix snorts again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I can’t.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Yes, </span>
  </em>
  <span>you can!” Felix encourages, and it’s then that Seungmin holds his phone up for the couple in front of him to see.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, I literally can’t.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The screen is illuminated with a message from Minho, the man himself, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Speak of the devil and he shall appear</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Minho:</b>
  <span> if ur setting me up on a blind date then i deserve to set u up on one too :) b prepared </span>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh,” Felix says, and then he’s whipping his own phone out and typing furiously. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Bastard bitch,” Jeongin curses under his breath. “I still think you should set yourself up with him, Min. What’s love if you’re not willing to fight for it? And what’s more romantic than asserting dominance over someone the person you love has set you up with? It’s a big mess, and quite frankly, I’m here to roll in it like a pig rolls in mud.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Felix stops typing for a second to process what his boyfriend just said, and then shakes his head in disbelief. “I’m surprised that that made sense at all.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“All in my genius, Sunshine,” Jeongin pretends to toss long hair over his shoulder and beams. “Anyway. Seungmin - it’s completely up to you. But I think it’s a wild and sexy idea to go with my suggestion.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin laughs despite the absurdity of it all. “I’ll consider it, Innie. Thank you.” And after that they leave the topic untouched and simmering on the side, bubbling away in the back of Seungmin’s mind in an endless blizzard of </span>
  <em>
    <span>what if, what if, what if.</span>
  </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>The </span>
  <em>
    <span>idea</span>
  </em>
  <span>, for lack of a better name, that Jeongin proposed, had honestly been haunting Seungmin from the second it had been brought up. After the younger’s jarring words about love being worth fighting for, Seungmin honestly felt as if he had been given the final push he needed into the sea of action - he needs to confess to Minho somehow, if not simply to get over him and move on with life if it turns out his feelings aren’t returned. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There is one more thing holding him back, though: what about the date Minho is supposedly now providing him with? He can’t just send this mystery person packing, because Seungmin himself has decided to confess his undying love for the man who set them both up in the first place.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As he always does in times of dilemma, he takes things to his best friend, who is just as tragically (read: hilariously) bad at giving advice as Minho could be, sometimes. It surprises Seungmin that he’s actually asking Changbin for help here, but he’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>desperate</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do it,” is all that Changbin says after Seungmin has explained the situation to him, sitting on his black leather couch surrounded by pristine white cushions, and a chic, modern interior that </span>
  <em>
    <span>screams</span>
  </em>
  <span> wealth through its glossy sheen and feel. Seungmin can’t help but compare it to Minho’s apartment; all handmade products, well-loved possessions and cats. He loves the look of both homes, but Changbin’s isn’t as homely as Seungmin himself prefers a home to feel. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s not helpful,” Seungmin groans, pushing his face into a cushion, uncaring of whether he gets any makeup on it. He’s only wearing concealer today; Changbin can’t yell at him for marking the white fabric when there’s hardly anything </span>
  <em>
    <span>to</span>
  </em>
  <span> come off his face in the first place. “I need you to talk me </span>
  <em>
    <span>out</span>
  </em>
  <span> of this.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No can do, bossman,” Changbin retorts, mouth full of steaming ramen noodles. The words sound as muddled and chewed-up as Seungmin’s thoughts. “I’m your best friend - you think my advice is going to be beneficial to you?” he scoffs before continuing. “Absolutely not. When in doubt, chaos is the answer. Show up with no date for Minho, reject the man he brings for you, and profess your damn love already. If you’re not making out with him within ten minutes of your meeting, I’ll be very much surprised.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin chokes on his own noodles at the 'making out' implication. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re clearly missing out the part including the possibility of my rejection! I can’t ruin my friendship with Minho!” Seungmin shrieks, and the sound bounces off the decorated walls of the living room. The acoustics in here are <em>magnificent</em> for gay panicking. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Minho is your close friend. Not your </span>
  <em>
    <span>best</span>
  </em>
  <span> friend, as that’s me,” Changbin smirks around a mouthful of noodles, “but close enough that despite how much you pretend to hate each other a lot of the time, I can tell he really does care a lot for you. Even if your feelings aren’t returned, does he seem like the kind of person to torment you about it? To let your friendship fall to ruins because of it?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>If Changbin had asked Seungmin the same question perhaps three years prior, when Seungmin didn’t know Minho as deeply as he does now, then his answer would have been very, very different to the words forming at the tip of his tongue as of now. But, after four years of friendship, he knows Minho inside-out, from his sometimes questionable exterior actions to his deep inner motives; the way he’s quiet with his kindness but never fails to make one feel loved, welcomed and included. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The way he cares so much for Soonie, Doongie and Dori as if they were his actual, biological children - they deserve no less - and regularly donates to the local animal shelters to make sure he’s lending a helping hand in feeding the animals when he can’t be there to physically volunteer.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho is a beautiful person, both inside and out -- and although he often tries to hide it, Seungmin can see straight through his sarcastic interior into the person that he really is inside, and once he genuinely thinks about it; revels in his thoughts, he knows that Minho would never let them grow apart because of something such as romantic feelings getting in the way.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin lets out an airy giggle, and turns to Changbin, who’s finished off his ramen with great enthusiasm in the time Seungmin took to consider. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Remind me again why I was worried?” he asks, and Changbin starts laughing too, placing his bowl on the floor next to the couch before reaching over to pat Seungmin’s thigh twice.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There you go,” he says, and smiles with such warmth that Seungmin is taken off-guard for a second. “And I’m here for you no matter what happens, too. I’m doing nothing on Valentine’s Day either, so if things </span>
  <em>
    <span>do</span>
  </em>
  <span> go horribly wrong, you know where to find me. You got this.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And for some reason, Seungmin feels a tad emotional. “Thank you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And so it’s settled: Seungmin will confess to Minho on Valentine’s Day. The only snag in his plan is that he needs to get Minho to the same place as Seungmin himself will be - which, in all essence, won’t be hard. As the date he’s planning for the elder is conveniently </span>
  <em>
    <span>blind</span>
  </em>
  <span>, all Seungmin needs to do is list the place that Minho needs to go to, and wait for him there. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Here’s to hoping everything goes as planned. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He messages Minho at exactly 10:26pm, three days before Valentine’s Day. They haven’t had a chance to see each other since their agreement, too caught up and entangled in their individual lives and jobs, but have managed to message each other in their breaks, mostly regarding the dates. Both have booked their days off work to accumulate for their dates.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <b>Seungmo:</b>
  <span> I’ve told your date to meet you at the park, under the willow tree, at one o’clock.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <b>Minho:</b>
  <span> sounds good. Your date has told me to tell you to meet him at the arcade at half two</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Seungmin grimaces at that, he won’t lie. His idea of an ideal first date wouldn’t be at a noisy arcade: he prefers to get to know people at first in quiet environments, where things are calmer. But he can’t exactly contradict the plans of someone he doesn’t know. </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <b>Seungmo:</b>
  <span> can i at least have his number beforehand? </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <b>Minho:</b>
  <span> absolutely not :P ur going in BLIND blind</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <b>Seungmo:</b>
  <span> okay. Then i won't send you your date’s number either :) </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>In all honesty, it’s a relief that Seungmin has an excuse not to send a number out now. It would have put a huge dent in his plan of anonymity until the very last minute, when everything else was going perfectly - down to the meeting places and time. Now, he has time to meet Minho first, and then let his own date down gently if his confession goes well, an entire hour and a half after he’ll have seen Minho in the first place. It’s foolproof.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But Seungmin is nothing if not prepared, and so he plans an entire date out down to his own outfit, for something to use as an established foundation, or skeleton, for the day to go off in the best case scenario of Minho accepting him. As much as he isn’t allowing himself to hope, he does need to be prepared for every situation, and if he’s completely honest, this whole date-planning is making him rather excited for the day. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He tries to tamp down that excitement, to no avail. Perhaps, if he’s rejected, Minho will agree to go on a platonic date with Seungmin instead, so his planning won’t go to waste.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The overall plan is to meet at the park, confess, and then if all goes well, he and Minho can take a stroll, and then decide from there what they should do. After googling cinema times Seungmin finds a few different types of film that might tickle Minho’s fancy that they could get last-minute tickets to see, or he could go with Minho to the arcade he’s supposed to be having his own blind date at, or they could go and eat - again, Seungmin has googled every nearby cafe and restaurant just so he has a good idea of where to suggest to Minho on the day.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And if all goes badly, then they can part ways and Seungmin can go on his arcade date with Minho’s chosen date for him, where he’ll at least, he hopes, make a new friend. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Shutting his notepad (yes, he’d been writing the date outline and ideas in there for safekeeping and memorising purposes), Seungmin gets up from his table and plops down on his couch, inserting his earbuds and deciding to watch a YouTube documentary to pass the time.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He has a feeling that the next three days will pass in an agonising trudge.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Finally Valentine’s Day arrives, and Seungmin wakes up feeling cold and shaky. It’s not in a sick way, it’s more due to nerves: he barely slept the night before for nerves and fear of every single possible way the day could go. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Still, he’s determined, and the intention he had set within the past week sets him on a determined course to confess today, no matter what. He won’t hide anymore. He will do this. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Appearance-wise, Seungmin would rather be comfortable in the midst of uncertainty, so he doesn’t dress up: instead, he chooses to layer a hoodie beneath a denim jacket to preserve warmth in the cold February weather, and pairs it all with simple jeans and Converse. Makeup-wise, however, he makes a little more effort, even going as far as to wear eyeliner to accentuate his eye shape as well as just a little highlight.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>However this day ends up going, he wants to look </span>
  <em>
    <span>good.</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At a quarter-past twelve he leaves his apartment, hot-footing it down the stairs instead of using the lift and making it to the park he had mentioned to Minho a good half-hour before the specified time. He spots the willow tree instantly, and after checking the grass for moisture and finding it conveniently dry, he sits beneath it, scrolling through his phone as he pretends to not be constantly scanning the park for any other signs of life.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And yes, by </span>
  <em>
    <span>life</span>
  </em>
  <span> he means Minho. There are countless other signs of life surrounding him: in nature, trees, animals and other people walking and exercising, whether it be couples hand-in-hand or groups of people taking jogs and doing stretches or riding bikes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin glances around, impatient and beyond the point of panicky. In setting this entire date up, he’s setting </span>
  <em>
    <span>himself</span>
  </em>
  <span> up for failure! In at least one way, whatever happens. Even on the incredibly off chance that Minho </span>
  <em>
    <span>does</span>
  </em>
  <span> want to go on this date after he finds out just who Seungmin has set him up with, Seungmin will consequently be named the </span>
  <em>
    <span>loser of the bet, you were in love with me this whole time. I win.</span>
  </em>
  <span> It’s a lose-lose situation; but it’s not too late to back out. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>this close</span>
  </em>
  <span> to just messaging Minho and telling him that his date had to cancel before bolting back home when he sees him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Minho</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He looks ethereal, in Seungmin’s eyes: he’s wearing a gargantuan blue jumper that's puffy fluffiness makes him look like a marshmallow, and his hair seems even shinier than usual as it falls into his eyes just so... Perfectly. He looks so huggable, yet untouchable. Soft. It’s so </span>
  <em>
    <span>him</span>
  </em>
  <span> it makes Seungmin want to melt into the ground right there and then. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When he catches sight of Seungmin, however, he does a complete double-take. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And why wouldn’t he? Seungmin is sitting in the exact spot he has told Minho to wait for his date in. Seungmin stands up immediately, brushing himself off.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Seungmin,” Minho greets as he jogs up to the younger, hair bouncing as he does so. “Are you waiting for my date? Or could he not make it or something?” he’s clearly trying to bite back a smile, and Seungmin can’t for the life of him figure out why.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He takes a deep breath in, holds it for three, and releases.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s me. I’m your date,” he confesses, and somehow summons enough courage to hold eye contact as he says so, not wanting any of his body language to mislead Minho into thinking that he’s lying or joking.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho blinks, multiple times in quick succession.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You?” he says as his hold on smile control fails him, and Seungmin’s knees go weak at the softness that his sudden beaming grin holds. He doesn’t think he’s ever heard Minho speak so gently before, nor smile so widely; not even at his cats.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin nods, just once. “Mm.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re my date? You said you weren’t in love with me, set me up on a date to prove it, but the date is… with you?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin’s really beginning to regret this. Now that Minho has said the core of the matter aloud, it hits Seungmin right where it hurts with the force of a freight truck. It sounds stupid, and pointless. He feels as small as the beetle scuttling, unseen, past the two of them in the grass nearby.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah… I was in love with you this whole time. But - now that you say it aloud it sounds really stupid. I wasted your time with this, I’m sorry -- I can plan you another date instead, with someone else,” Seungmin offers, his feet already poised to turn away as his eyes sting with the threat of hot tears of humiliation. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He doesn’t get even one step away before a hand wraps around his wrist, grip firm and insisting.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No,” Minho says, and tugs Seungmin back so that they’re face-to-face again. “That won’t be necessary.” His smile is saccharine, and even Seungmin, who prefers healthy or savoury things to sweet, is irrevocably hooked. “Not necessary at all… anyway, seeing as you planned this date to begin with, what are we doing first?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It’s such a warm tone of voice Minho’s using; one so full of fondness and, dare Seungmin even say </span>
  <em>
    <span>adoration</span>
  </em>
  <span>, that he feels shocked to his core. This isn’t the Minho he’s used to: Minho who snarks sarcastic remarks at Seungmin every chance he gets, or pretends to ignore him for laughs. This is entirely new territory, and Seungmin is all too happy to drown in it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That is, if he’d get over his damn suspicions first.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait.” He hangs back as Minho starts to walk on, and Minho pouts, being held back too via his grip on Seungmin’s wrist. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin gulps. “How come you’re acting so…” he gestures around with uncertainty. “So normal about this? Where’s the... commenting? The teasing, mocking? Nothing?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho deflates a little at that, and takes a step closer - now he’s truly invading Seungmin’s personal bubble.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t you get it?” Minho’s voice drops to a whisper, barely audible over the rustle of wind-stroked leaves. “I was hoping it would be you after all… I wanted it to be you </span>
  <em>
    <span>so badly.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho is close enough for his breath to fan over Seungmin’s lips as he speaks, and whilst in any other circumstance the feeling would surely repulse the younger, he finds himself breathing it in with reverence. It feels warm, and smells faintly of cinnamon. Comforting... it's Minho, in his very essence.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Because I’ve been in love with you for two years now, and although I’ve tried to ignore it, and get over it, I’m sick of hiding it. If you’ll let me, I want to love you openly, as I’ve wanted to for so long now.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Two years</span>
  </em>
  <span>… </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin doesn’t waste another second.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He lunges forward, and captures Minho’s lips with his own. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It’s nothing like he expected. Of course, Seungmin has kissed people before, but he supposes that after years of loving Minho and only just </span>
  <em>
    <span>now</span>
  </em>
  <span> being able to express it like this - and according to Minho it’s the same on his end too - it feels like so much </span>
  <em>
    <span>more</span>
  </em>
  <span> than a kiss. Minho’s lips are impossibly soft and velveteen, and warm where they press against Seungmin’s own, and so </span>
  <em>
    <span>gentle</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They waste no time with chasteness; it’s deep from the start, and Seungmin can feel himself growing dizzy after just a few seconds. He winds his arms around Minho’s neck, and sighs into the kiss as he feels Minho’s arm slide around his waist as his free hand comes up to cup Seugmin’s cheek. Neither hesitate to pour everything they have into the kiss, and the result is heady and addicting.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin never wants to pull away, the public setting be damned. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’ll have to text my date and tell him I had to cancel,” he pulls back to whisper against Minho’s lips, and Minho smiles back against his own.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No need. I was your date,” he replies, and right as their lips meet again Seungmin chokes in shock.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait,” he pulls away, “wait. You mean -- we did the same thing? We set each other on blind dates with each other?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’re magnificently in sync, it seems,” Minho muses, eyes glittering as leaves fall from the willow tree behind him in the wind, and Seungmin wishes he’d brought his camera to capture the sight. It’s like something straight out of a Ghibli movie. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re beautiful,” he whispers, and Minho snorts as he grabs Seungmin’s hand, intertwining their fingers and making Seungmin’s heart flip-flop within the confines of his chest.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So, date time? Did you have anything planned?” the elder asks, and Seungmin scrunches his nose up cutely.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, I </span>
  <em>
    <span>did</span>
  </em>
  <span> have things planned, but only ambiguously. To be completely honest…” Seungmin wonders if he should vocalise his current wants, but then decides to throw more caution to the wind because </span>
  <em>
    <span>hey</span>
  </em>
  <span>, he’s already confessed to Minho today already, hasn’t he? The least he can do is be completely honest. “If I’m completely honest, I’m not sure I want to go on a date with you today.” he carries on in haste, not wanting to see Minho’s face drop in disappointment. “I wasn’t expecting this to happen, but now that we’ve… kissed… I kind of just want to be close to you for a while.” he’s blushing profusely by the time he </span>
  <em>
    <span>finally</span>
  </em>
  <span> gets the sentence out, and Minho’s grip tightens on his hand.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sweet…” Minho says quietly, and smiles brightly. “I wouldn’t have taken you for a super cuddly boyfriend.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Stop.” Seungmin bats at his arm, embarrassed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s cute,” Minho reassures him, reaching out with his free hand to tuck a stray lock of hair behind Seungmin’s ear. “That sounds like a plan, then. My place is closer, so let’s go there and make up for lost cuddles.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And kisses?” Seungmin dares ask, a shy smile offsetting the bold question. Minho laughs, and it’s a laugh freer than Seungmin has ever heard before. He wants to bottle it up and absorb it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“<em>So</em> many kisses,” Minho promises, and Seungmin makes a pleased noise as they set off walking back through the park, hand in hand, hearts full to bursting.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Perhaps they go back out after a few hours of affection to go on a real date, or perhaps they leave that for another day. But right now, all that matters to them is that their plans went accordingly, and they came out of what started off as potential sabotage of any potential for a relationship they could have ever had, ended with both boys getting exactly what they’d secretly been hoping for the entire time.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>2min r dumb here but hEY it all ended up in the best way imaginable &lt;33 i hope you enjoyed this fic, leave a comment letting me know your thoughts! I hope it fulfilled everyone's wishes for some lovely Valentine's fluff. wherever you are, i hope your day/night will be amazing, and thank you for reading! &lt;3</p></blockquote></div></div>
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